Eight Oklahoma colleges and universities are participating in Degrees When Due, a national initiative of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), with the goal of assisting students with some college credit to complete their degrees.
The institutions will participate in best practices in degree reclamation and will provide targeted support while re-engaging students who have paused or stopped out of their studies. Campus participation in the initiative is facilitated through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Oklahoma is one of 20 states participating in the nationwide initiative.
“The Degrees When Due initiative complements the state system of higher education’s ongoing efforts to help adult learners with some college credit complete the college degrees they started,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “The collaboration of state system campuses and the Institute for Higher Education Policy will provide these institutions with additional tools to re-engage students who have stopped out of higher education.”
Degrees When Due will grant institutions access to a variety of resources to assist with auditing students’ previously earned credits in order to determine the students’ most efficient pathway to graduation. The program will benefit the many Oklahomans identified as having some earned some college credit, but no degree.
“Our Degrees When Due institutional and state partners are building a strong pathway to degree attainment for all students, including by providing an on-ramp for those who have paused their studies or ‘stopped-out,’” said IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D. “IHEP enthusiastically welcome the selected institutions and states to this effort. Through this initiative, they will increase student success, serve as a diverse set of student populations, and join us in addressing on of higher education’s most pressing challenges: degree completion.”
Oklahoma institutions participating in the initiative include Connors State College, Murray State College, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Northeastern State University, Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Redlands Community College and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.